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Great Rift (astronomy)

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Image of the Great Rift - a dusty lane that stretches from the constellation Cygnus to Sagittarius.

In astronomy, the Great Rift (sometimes called the Dark Side, Dark Rift, or, less commonly, Dark River) is a series of overlapping, non-luminous, molecular dust clouds that are located between the Solar System and the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy at a distance of about 100 parsecs or about 300 light years (2×1015 miles or 3×1015 kilometers) from Earth. The clouds are estimated to contain about 1 million solar masses of plasma and dust.[1]

Properties

To the naked eye, the Great Rift appears as a dark lane that divides the bright band of the Milky Way lengthwise, through about one-third of its extent, and is flanked by lanes of numerous stars.[1]

Starting at the constellation of Cygnus, where it is known as the Cygnus Rift or Northern Coalsack, the Great Rift stretches to Aquila; to Ophiuchus, where it broadens out; to Sagittarius, where it obscures the Galactic Center; and finally to Centaurus. One of the most important regions it obscures is the Cygnus OB2 association, a large cluster of young stars and one of the largest regions of star formation near Earth. A similar dark band can be seen in edge-on distant galaxies, such as NGC 891 in Andromeda.[2]

  • Wide angle view the Milky Way near the Cygnus constellation showing the dark lane of the Great Rift.
    Wide angle view the Milky Way near the Cygnus constellation showing the dark lane of the Great Rift.
  • Milky Way Image showing the dusty lanes dotted with colorful nebulae between Sagittarius to Scorpius.
    Milky Way Image showing the dusty lanes dotted with colorful nebulae between Sagittarius to Scorpius.
  • Radio image showing intense radio emissions emanating from the center of the Milky Way.
    Radio image showing intense radio emissions emanating from the center of the Milky Way.
  • View of the Milky Way and the Great Rift from ESO's Very Large Telescope in Cerro Paranal, Chile.
    View of the Milky Way and the Great Rift from ESO's Very Large Telescope in Cerro Paranal, Chile.
  • Mysterious ring composed of very dense and cold gas and dust at the center of the Milky Way.
    Mysterious ring composed of very dense and cold gas and dust at the center of the Milky Way.
  • Image showing the dense and compact regions where gas and dust clump together in the galaxy.
    Image showing the dense and compact regions where gas and dust clump together in the galaxy.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Great Rift: Dark area in the Milky Way 2010 EarthSky Communications. Accessed June 2010
  2. ^ Pitts, Sam. "NGC 891 Edge on Galaxy (HV19)". Sams Astro. Retrieved 2009-04-25.

References

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